Monday, August 29, 2011

Things That Kill

That would be hurricanes, Raptors, and kittehs.

First... hurricanes and Raptors. I found this interesting (from the other usual source):

Air Force photo by A1C Kayla Newman

Langley Temporarily Lifts F-22 Grounding Order to Escape Hurricane: Air Force officials temporarily lifted the grounding of the F-22 Raptor fleet based at JB Langley-Eustis, Va., so the aircraft can avoid Hurricane Irene's wrath. The fighters, which have been grounded since May due to safety concerns over malfunctioning on-board oxygen-generation systems, started flying to Grissom ARB, Ind., around 10 a.m. Friday. They will be kept at Grissom until the storm clears and then will be authorized to fly back to Langley, where the grounding will once again take effect, Langley spokeswoman Monica Miller Rodgers told the Daily Report Friday morning. "This is a one-time flight authority to get out of the area affected by Irene," she said. The National Hurricane Center is predicting Irene will hit the Virginia area over the weekend, with winds in excess of 100 miles per hour. The 633rd Air Base Wing commander ordered all residents of the Heavier than Air and Lighter than Air housing areas, temporary lodging facilities, and the dormitories to evacuate no later than noon on Saturday, "provided they are non-mission essential," according to a release. All residents living off base were ordered to follow local evacuation guidance.

It makes sense to move your assets away from a hurricane but one wonders at what altitude the F-22s flew during the move, what with no on-board oxygen. The flight covered a distance of about 700 miles or so... which is no big deal... but I'd guess they flew at no higher than 10,000 feet. That would have made for a nice impromptu airshow for those in the flight path.

Apropos o' this... It sure is taking USAF a long time to "evaluate" those oxygen systems.

―:☺:―

Kitteh update... The useta-bee resident kittehs are closer to cats than kittens now and I don't see much of 'em. They're also much more independent, meaning they don't stick close to Mom nor do they hang out as a group, so I can go for days without seein' any of the lil buggers as a result. That said, one wandered into my field o' view during last night's After Dinner Whiskey Hour; here's a couple o' crappy cell-phone pics.

That brought back a memory. To show how different men and women think, my girlfriend at the time was looking out the window, and said "get up, it's gorgeous outside. Let's go to the park, and maybe we can kiss behind a tree, or something."

"Something" then crossed my mind, but I'm too much a prude for that, so I said "what do you mean 'or something'?"